Tuesday, January 29, 2019

The team at Hill Farmstead, founder Shaun Hill standing fourth from left

Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro was named the best brewery in the world for the fifth straight year by RateBeer, which announced its annual ratings on Tuesday. The brewery on a dirt road in the Northeast Kingdom beat out more than 34,000 breweries to win the 2018 title, according to RateBeer.

"At this point, it's kind of like we really hope we get No. 1," said Phil Young, who works in production and retail at Hill Farmstead. "If you're at the top, there's nowhere to go but down, so you want to stay there."

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Prohibition Pig is closed Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. When it reopens on Thursday, the restaurant will do so under new ownership: Eric Warnstedt and Will McNeil, co-owners of Hen of the Wood and Doc Ponds, purchased the Waterbury brewpub on Tuesday, Warnstedt said.

The business partners purchased Prohibition Pig — a restaurant/bar and affiliated brewery and tasting room — from Chad Rich, finalizing the deal at about 1 p.m. on Tuesday. With the new acquisition, Warnstedt and McNeil own four restaurants — two in Waterbury, where Warnstedt founded the original Hen in 2005; a second Hen on Cherry Street in Burlington, and Doc Ponds in Stowe.

“I’ve been buddies with Chad since before all this,” Warnstedt said. “It was an easy transition to think maybe we’d be partners one day. And then it came to the idea of him maybe wanting to make some changes, and I was the logical option without shopping it.”

Warnstedt, who grew up in Florida and North Carolina, said the prospect of running a restaurant that serves Southern-style food appeals to him. Prohibition Pig features smoked meat plates, barbecue sandwiches, burgers and other pub fare.

File: Matthew Thorsen

Eric Warnstedt, right, with William McNeil

“I’m really excited,” Warnstedt, 43, said. “I’m born in the South, and this is everything in the world I’ve wanted to play in. Here we can play in our local world but with this whole southern spin, which is right up my alley.”

There are no plans to make changes at the Waterbury brewpub, which employs about 50 people, Warnstedt said. The acquisition brings to 160 the number of people employed by the restaurateurs.

“It’s really just getting to know everyone,” Warnstedt said. “The Pig has been doing great for six years; let’s set up for another six years. It’s really about building up the foundation so we’re setting ourselves up there to be successful in the long term.”

Prohibition Pig occupies the space at 23 South Main Street in Waterbury that was the original home of the Alchemist, a brewpub founded in 2003 by John and Jen Kimmich. The couple later moved out of the downtown space to launch a cannery in Waterbury, where they brewed Heady Topper. In July 2016, the Kimmiches opened a brewery and visitor center in Stowe.

“I feel like we’re really carrying the torch of what’s been happening there, from the Alchemist to Prohibition Pig to our version of Prohibition Pig," Warnstedt said.

Since Tropical Storm Irene damaged homes and businesses in Waterbury in August 2011, the town's rebuilding efforts have come to include a revitalized downtown. Waterbury has become a food and beverage hub of the region.

“For me, I live here,” Warnstedt said. “I’m not going anywhere. I feel like I want to double-down in Waterbury. We can do a lot more to the town through the Pig. It’s bigger [than Hen-Waterbury]. There’s more going on. It’s the center of the town, physically and spiritually.”

Cost and personal choice are two of the pluses. Local and fresh are two more. With a longstanding commitment to sourcing local ingredients, UVMMC purchases food from more than 70 regional farmers and producers, according to its website.

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

The salad on the menu at Rí Rá Irish Pub in downtown Burlington is called Heirloom Tomato Salad. The first ingredient listed in the description is “Half Pint Farms [sic] heirloom tomatoes.”

But Half Pint Farm hasn’t harvested tomatoes since the fall of 2017, and the first harvest of this season will be in about six weeks, said Mara Welton, who owns and operates the farm at Burlington's Intervale with her husband, Spencer Welton.

Mara Welton handles farm deliveries herself, transporting produce to about 30 restaurants in Chittenden County. In the 13 years that Half Pint has been growing tomatoes, Welton said she has never delivered them to Rí Rá.

“I’m infuriated. This is something that's been happening regularly," Welton said, meaning beyond this instance and this restaurant. “It happens on different levels and it erodes our brand, and I think it erodes every farm’s brand that is being used this way.”

On a made-in-Vermont swing through the Mad River Valley, I stopped for a peek at the Bundy Modern. Wow! The stunning hillside gallery in a private home in Waitsfield is exhibiting the work of southern Vermont artist Johnny Swing through September 10. (Read the Seven Days review here.) Many of Swing's pieces are made of money, including a low-slung couch of welded nickels that I sat on gingerly — mindful of the $150,000 price tag. Swing's chair of pennies is listed for a cool quarter mill.

With those prices in mind, I felt like I hit the bargain basement when I got to the Mad River Taste Place. The priciest cheese, Sunrise from Mt. Mansfield Creamery, sells for $31.99 a pound. Most are in the $16 to $20 per pound price range, and all are made locally.

The Vermont Fresh Network held its annual gala last Sunday evening at Shelburne Farms. The occasion is billed as a "forum," but it's perhaps better described as a mass feeding.

About 400 people attended the sold-out fundraiser for the VFN — a statewide nonprofit that connects food producers and restaurateurs, and works to strengthen partnership between the groups. The network's membership includes 113 chefs and 140 farmers/food producers.

Sunday night at the Coach Barn, farmer-chef connections were on display in a delicious and creative array of mini-meals, from complex (smoked beef with pickled blueberries and radishes, garlic-chili aioli, basil and mint) to simple (ham and butter on baguette).

After Rachel Collier had her first child, she researched best practices for introducing solid foods to little ones. In the process, bone broth — which is made by simmering bones slowly over a long period of time to extract as many nutrients as possible — came up again and again. Now, it's not only a part of her family's daily diet, it's also the basis for her business, the Simmering Bone. "It's pretty amazing stuff," she explains.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

1983 game Tapper isn't in the house, but its bartender is, attending to E. Honda and Darth Vader

There was no escaping the heat last night. But inside Tilt Classic Arcade and Ale House, it was practically a sauna. The air conditioning shorted out earlier that day, leaving the restaurant steamy by its 7:30 p.m. opening. The system will be fixed on Thursday morning, but the throngs at last night's opening sweated to the oldies nonetheless.

Anticipation had built to a fever pitch since Seven Days announced the upcoming "adult" arcade in March. The usual new-restaurant holdups ensued, slowed by the major renovations to the space involved in creating Tilt's two floors of arcade games in just 12 weeks

"It's been a series of unfortunate events," says co-owner Thom Dodge, of the weeks and days that led up to opening.

Last week, the fire department was called to the space to help with wiring concerns in the hood system. Following a longer-than-expected wait for approval from the fire marshall, Tilt opened at last evening after a brief false start of a promised 3 p.m. debut.

Vermonters are observing their rites of spring – warm days blossom with floral dresses and rosy, bare chests, and by evening, sunburns for paler, more foolhardy revelers.

For casual tipplers and craftbrew dilettantes alike, spring also means bright, sunny beers best sipped fresh in the open air, whether the venue is your back porch, on the lake or in the garden, or at your favorite watering hole.

Over the last few weeks, Vermont’s brewmasters have been rolling out the season’s new releases. It's a fruity, citrusy batch that predictably forges new trails into IPA territory, with stops along the way for ciders, sours and saisons. Just in time for Memorial Day and the official (unofficial) start of summer.

Read on for a smattering of noteworthy new brews, listed by release date.

Hungry for a Hasselhoff Burger? The $34 patty is cooked well done and topped with ketchup, then served on the bathroom floor. "The celebrity price is in line with the celebrity experience," says a representative for Montpelier's Three Penny Taproom, which debuted a new spring menu today.

The source told Seven Days that the new menu was designed to keepThree Penny in line with popular New York restaurants, such as Guy Fieri's landmark Guy's Kitchen & Bar.

Starting today, Three Penny guests will be welcomed to "Flavor Town" with a new take on the cheese plate. Kraft Singles, Cheetos or Easy Cheese are each available for $9. Larger parties may want to indulge in all three for $15, served with a side of ketchup.

Waist watchers can stick to the salad menu. The Jell-O salad is composed of lime gelatin, canned pineapple and artisanal marshmallows, while the taco salad features Doritos and jarred salsa.

Since Three Penny is ultimately a beer destination, snacks and sides are an important addition to a can of Schlitz or Olde English 800. Irish Nachos make the most of our Blarney-kissin' cousins' cuisine with boiled waffle fries, Kilkenny jalapeños and a Guinness drizzle. An original dish, Pigs in a Biskit, features pigs-in-a-blanket, crusted with Chicken in a Biskit crackers.

One sweet snack is appropriate as a starter, side or dessert. A bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch will run you $6. Add milk for just $17 more.

We look forward to trying Three Penny's hip new fare soon, with or without a shirt.